The present invention relates to on-demand media delivery systems and more particularly, to on-demand media delivery systems that have user-related memory for providing system enhancements.
In some known video on-demand systems, a set-top box may be used to receive on-demand video from cable system headends. Such set-top boxes may communicate or may deliver the video and/or other functionality to television sets, VCRs, or other local devices. These systems have been deficient in allowing users to relocate their video-on-demand service to different locations. These systems may have also been deficient in providing adequate relocation techniques, deficient in allowing users to upload and access their personal videos, graphics, images, or photographs and deficient in allowing users to share media.
Systems have been developed that use hard disk technology or other recording technology to store videos of programs locally. Examples of hard disk systems are described, in Hassell et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/157,256 filed Sep. 17, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Hard-disk based products have also been developed by TiVo, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Replay Networks, Inc. of Mountainview, Calif. These systems have been deficient in meeting user needs. For example, these systems do not allow the user to relocate to other households with continued access to the recorded materials.
Television platforms have also been developed that include a return path from a user's set-top box to a cable system headend. For example, client-server based program guides have been developed in which set-top boxes are in client-server arrangements with the cable system headends. These arrangements allow for two-way communication between the cable system headends and set-top boxes. These servers typically provide program listings information (e.g., program titles and broadcast times) to the set-top boxes in response to requests generated from the set-top boxes. Client-server television program guides have also been developed where programming and settings may be recorded on a remote server. These known systems have been deficient in various ways. For example, servers in such systems (servers at the cable system headends) have been deficient in providing sufficient mobility features.